Bulldogs, Rangers Square Off With 3A-8 Lead At Stake

Going into the next-to-last week of the regular season, four teams are vying for first place in 3A-8.

After today, at least one of those teams will be looking up at the rest. Spiro and Roland are two of the teams in a four-way deadlock for first place in the district, and the winner of today’s game will remain there entering the final week of the regular season.

“Positioning makes a big difference,” Spiro coach Chris Bunch said. “No one wants to go in that fourth-place spot and nobody really wants to go in that third-place spot, either. You always want to try to have that home field advantage and play the first round playoff at home, and it’s real important we get through this game with a win to have a chance to finish in the top two.”

Spiro (5-3, 4-1) appears to have the hardest road among the four teams tied for first place, which also includes Checotah and Stigler (6-2, 4-1). The Bulldogs take on the Rangers (6-2, 4-1) today, then have to face Checotah (6-1, 4-1) next week (Spiro lost head-to-head against Stigler).

As for the Rangers, they will try to win today and next week against Valliant (3-5, 1-4) while hoping Stigler will stumble along the way. Stigler beat Roland, but the Rangers beat Checotah, which helped create the logjam atop 3A-8.

“All we can control is winning, but it sets you up in a pretty good situation of where I think we can be no worse than third,” Roland coach Jeff Streun said. “Obviously, getting the one or two spot and having home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs would be an awesome feat, but a lot of things are going to have to happen.

“Between us this week, this is a big game and of course, the following week Spiro and Checotah is going to be another big game that could help us. Obviously, a lot more things are going to shake loose this week on that.”

Both the Rangers and Bulldogs are coming in on a roll. After a 1-3 start, Spiro has reeled off four consecutive wins while the Rangers rebounded from an opening-week loss to Muldrow to win six of their next seven games.

“They’re a typical Spiro team; they had their struggles and things like that early in the season and then they just always improve and get better as the season goes on,” Streun said.

“Playing them in Week 9, we’re going to catch them at their best, and on the same token, I think they’re going to catch us at our best as well because we’ve continued to improve and grow, especially up front with our linemen and things like that, so this is going to be a great football game.”

The Rangers are also at home, which may play a factor. Roland is 4-0 this season at home and has scored at least 40 points in each of those wins. One reason has been the play of senior quarterback Brooks Robertson, who has thrown 16 of his 25 touchdown passes at home, including six in his previous home game two weeks ago against Idabel.

“He’s got good receivers and he does a good job of providing himself some time to throw the ball and let those receivers get open,” Bunch said. “We’ve got to make sure to put a hat on him; we can’t just let him run around back there and let him find one of those receivers.”

Likewise, Streun said it will be a challenge to slow down the Bulldogs’ offense, which is averaging more than 35 points per game during their four-game winning streak.

“Offensively, they’ve got the big-play potential with the speed that they possess at receiver and at running back and at quarterback,” Streun said. “They really, really make you defend the entire field and that’s tough to do when you’ve got receivers on both sides of the field and running backs and the quarterback that can run.

“The big-play threat is evident and it’s something you have to control. We have to drive the length of the field and put together drives in order for us to be successful.”

Muldrow at Sallisaw

The Black Diamonds (5-3, 3-2 4A-4) can clinch a playoff berth with a win today while still holding out hope they can sneak into the postseason as the district’s second seed. Sallisaw is currently in fourth place, a game behind Fort Gibson and Broken Bow, both of which are tied for second. The Black Diamonds take on Fort Gibson next week.

Muldrow (2-6, 1-4) is still mathematically alive for a playoff spot, but the Bulldogs must win their next two games while needing both Sallisaw and Poteau to lose its last two regular-season games.

Poteau at Broken Bow

It will be a homecoming of sorts for Poteau coach Greg Werner, who was Broken Bow’s coach for 10 seasons before taking over the Pirates this past offseason.

Werner and the Pirates (5-3, 2-3 4A-4) are also hoping a win today can get them a chance to make postseason play, but to do so, Poteau must win its next two games plus Broken Bow and/or Sallisaw needs to lose its next two games. District points could also be a factor.

Broken Bow (6-2, 4-1) moved into a second-place tie in the district with Fort Gibson after the Savages survived a wild 35-28 win at Sallisaw last week.

Pocola at Panama

A playoff berth is at stake for the winner of this game between two traditional LeFlore County rivals.

The Indians (5-3, 3-2 2A-6) can punch their ticket to the postseason with a win, while Panama (3-5, 2-2) can get in position to grab a playoff spot with a win, although the Razorbacks still need a little help in order to assure themselves of playing beyond Week 10.

Panama is tied with Wilburton in fourth place, but the Diggers own the head-to-head tiebreaker against Panama. The Razorbacks, after an 0-5 start, have won their last three games and also beat Pocola last season.